A retired American who lived in Penang, Malaysia, and now has returned to the US shares his thoughts, views and opinions on a variety of subjects ranging from the ridiculous to the controversial. The contents are only limited by his imagination.

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Wednesday, March 14, 2012

Don't Eat This. Don't Eat That.

I like to read the news on the Internet every day and this includes the health news. But I am really getting sick of headlines such as "Eating Red Meat Increases Risk of Early Death". In the past couple of days this headline has been on the Internet, on TV and in the newspapers. Of course they meant you have to eat red meat every single day of your life. It's really amazing that there are human beings alive today, because all of our prehistoric ancestors ate read meat! They were all hunters and gatherers.

I don't know how many times in my lifetime scientists have concluded that drinking coffee was extremely bad for you. Probably just about the same number of times scientists have concluded that drinking coffee is good for your health. I can remember when eating chocolate was bad for you, but now eating it is good for you. And how about the warnings about drinking alcohol? At first drinking any alcohol was bad for your health, but now scientists have found that drinking red wine is actually very good for your heart. Drinking a moderate amount of alcohol has been found to be beneficial to your health in many ways. For years eating any kind of fat was bad for you, but now we know that certain fats are actually good for us. Coconut oil had been very bad for your health until just recently when it was discovered that is can be good for you.

Nowadays whenever I read such headlines I take them with a grain of salt. I really doubt the science of the research that generates such headlines. Research is expensive and someone has to pay for it. I suspect that much of this research is paid for by both pro and con self interest groups. Whenever new research is announced, the people or organizations paying for the research are always kept secret. I have lost a lot of respect for many researchers and I pay little or at least less attention to the results of research projects, which generate tabloid type headlines.

If we all pay attention to these periodic headline regarding eating or not eating certain foods, we will all become paranoid hypochondriacs. If we strictly follow the guidelines of these researchers we might live a few extra years. A few hungry, miserable, lonely, unhappy and stressful years. A longer life of little quality. As in all aspects of life, when it comes to eating and drinking, the smart thing to do is to eat and drink in moderation. This is something that researchers know nothing about. Enjoy life, don't be afraid of it.